


Then & Now

by Mrs_Don_Draper (orphan_account)



Category: Hannibal (TV)
Genre: Angst, Fluff and Angst, Gen, Hurt/Comfort
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-04-04
Updated: 2014-04-04
Packaged: 2018-01-18 04:18:10
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 2
Words: 603
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1414828
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/Mrs_Don_Draper
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Jack has always cared about Will Graham in his own way, but he was never any good at showing it.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Will has been feeling broken, empty, and used to the point where he makes the decision to find comfort from Jack. Jack is familiar, and he doesn’t entirely blame him for not believing in him because Hannibal is slippery, and the truth sounds fishy even to Will himself. And he just sort of collapses at Jack’s feet. He knows Jack has probably worried himself sick over Bella, but Will finds Jack hoisting his tired, limp body from his office floor and laying him down on Jack’s office couch. 

Will wants something to hold, so he wraps his arms around himself and stares at the wall. Jack takes pity on him and gently takes Will’s glasses off his face so they’re not pressed against his face while he rests and places them on the lamp table. Will doesn’t move much throughout all of this, but now that his glasses have been removed, he rubs his face against the soft material of the couch. Jack takes off his suit jacket next, and before he even knows what he’s doing, he’s placing it like a blanket over Will’s torso. 

_Get some sleep, Will._

Jack goes back to his desk to finish up some work. It takes a few minutes, but Will’s breathing evens out. It’s the first time he’s slept without nightmares in weeks.


	2. Chapter 2

Jack never thought he’d see his best agent pulled so low. Will is buckled, snapped, tied, and muzzled into submission like a rabid animal, but Jack has never seen a more docile creature. Jack tries and fails to ignore the fact that Beverly’s body is a few feet from where they stand. He can only imagine what’s going through Will’s mind, if his mind even still works. It’s hard getting any information from Chilton.

Will is perfectly still while Jack frees him from his bonds, not that he had much of a choice. He was strapped in tightly. But he doesn’t try to step down from the trolley carrying him until the straight jacket comes completely off. Jack throws the offending item to the floor. Why did every terrible thing that happened to his team happen here? 

Still, Will does not move. He stands, patiently waiting for Jack to do or say something. Jack reaches for the back of his muzzle and pulls the first strap loose. He tries not to pull any more than he absolutely needs to. He reaches for the second strap and finds his hands in Will’s hair. His hair used to give him an aura of innocence, but now it feels dry and brittle. Will’s back and neck are sweaty from the straitjacket, and he resists from making a soothing motion on his shoulder. This is a Will Graham that he isn’t quite sure how to handle.

He reaches for the third strap, and Will is finally free. He reads the scene in a sad, broken voice.

_Why did I bring you here?_

Will’s voice chokes up.

_I wanted to say good-bye._

Jack nods. He at least owes that to Will. He allows the man time to grieve. His sobs echo through the room of horrors until he’s coughing from crying so much, until he collapses to the cold, hard marble below like an injured animal.

When Jack hoists him up this time, there is no couch or warm jacket. There is no one to take his glasses and let him rest. This time, Jack must tie him back down and muzzle him up to take him back to the Baltimore Hospital for the Criminally Insane.

Jack wants to apologize—for everything—but the words get stuck.


End file.
